Education

St. Pete STEAMfest at Shorecrest Prep demonstration
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St. Pete STEAMfest Returns for 7th Community Festival

St. Pete STEAMfest returns for the seventh community festival celebrating the study of science, technology, engineering, art and math (STEAM) on Saturday, October 26, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The free, family-friendly festival, designed for families of children in preschool through eighth grade, brings hands-on experiential learning from some of the Tampa Bay area’s…

navigating school admissions season

Navigating a Competitive Admissions Season Without Stress

The school year still feels brand new, so how is it time to begin thinking about 2025-26? If you’re considering enrolling in a private school, it’s smart to start early. Applications are open at private schools, where admissions officers expect another busy season. A Cato Institute survey showed that 50 percent of private schools received…

the authors kids hold "UF" balloons in reference to the college application process
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The Clock Starts Yesterday: 8 tips to kick off the college application process for high schoolers (or middle schoolers)

I remember being at Gymboree with my oldest (many moons ago) when a mom asked me, “Where do you think your son will go to high school?” In the sleep-deprived era of toddlerhood, I wanted to say, “Lady, I am so tired and I don’t even know what we are having for dinner, much less…

Paige the Literacy Bus! Hillsborough County public schools
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Turning the Paige on Literacy in Hillsborough County Public Schools

Meet Paige. She’s fun, she’s engaging and she’s filled with books! She is Hillsborough County Public Schools’ newest literacy resource—Paige the Literacy Bus! Paige’s mission is to provide early access to resources and promote literacy beyond the classroom. She is geared toward our younger learners up to age 5. When children step onto the bus,…

Corbett Prep Students at the airport show the Benefits of Global Learning

5 Reasons It’s Good to Go Global

We love to ask little kids what they want to be when they grow up. But the truth is that the world is changing so quickly that students today will enter a future filled with jobs, challenges and opportunities we are yet to imagine. As adults, we have witnessed the transformative power of technology from…

UFLI

The “Magic” of Teaching a Child to Read! Hillsborough County Public Schools’ New Literacy Curriculum, UFLI

Discover the transformative power of UFLI, Hillsborough County Public School’s new game-changing literacy curriculum. With heartwarming success stories and practical tips for parents, learn how this approach is making reading magical for kids.

Prevent Summer Slide Shorecrest Prep summer camps
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5 Fun and Easy Ways to Prevent Summer Slide

It seems that each year as students return from spring break, there is a sense of anticipation in the air. Summer is nearly upon us, and families are penciling summer camps and family vacations into their calendars. (Or, if your family is anything like mine, you are just beginning to plan your child’s summer activities. No…

Ready for Kindergarten

They’re Ready… But Are You? (It’s time to sign up for kindergarten!)

Alright mamas, hold onto your heartstrings … especially if you have a preschooler! It’s time… To register them… For KINDERGARTEN! (And the sobs were heard round the bay.) Don’t worry; Hillsborough County Public Schools makes getting ready for kindergarten easy for you and fun for them! Schools across the district will hold Kindergarten Ready Open…

Education Rock Stars

Hillsborough County Public Schools Celebrates its Education Rock Stars

Have you seen the commercial where employees keep calling each other rock stars, and then actual rock stars show up and shut them down?! Well, we challenge Ozzy Osbourne, Billy Idol or Joan Jett to step in one of our schools and shut US down – because our employees are as close to rock stars as you…

Bayshore Christian Fourth Grade
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Kids to Know: Bayshore Christian School’s Fourth Grade Class

Every fall at Bayshore Christian School, the fourth grade classes gather to plan for a market. The products, packaging and prices are determined individually by each nine and ten year old student. However, they decide collectively how the profits from the project will be used. While they learned how to execute a successful business, they…

easing the transition to middle school

How Corbett Prep is Building a Bridge to Middle School in Fifth Grade

It’s elective day in fifth grade, and the Forensic Science class is seated in Corbett Prep’s Middle School lab with mysterious red vials and tiny plastic trays for a lesson on blood type analysis. The synthetic blood will react differently depending on the blood type when mixed with an antiserum, so the fifth graders carefully…

Preparing for Kindergarten

Countdown to Kindergarten: 3 Expert Tips to Prepare Your Child Now

Parents and caregivers of preschoolers may notice time has a way of slowing down and then speeding up with the hustle of trying to make sure you capture each last moment: the last first day of preschool; the last time your child needed help tying their shoe; the last holiday celebrations you will attend at…

Teaching Financial Literacy

It Makes Cents: Shorecrest Prep Teaching Important Life Skill of Financial Literacy

Shorecrest believes that a challenging, college-preparatory curriculum must extend beyond academics to include a solid grounding in real-world applications. The newly launched Ross Roeder Institute for Financial Literacy, Entrepreneurship and Economics (RRI) is just one example of how the school provides that preparation.

Teaching History to Promote Patriotism at Academy at the Lakes

Academy at the Lakes: We Must Teach History

Today’s public square includes much debate about the teaching of history in school. As both a school leader and a history teacher, I offer this: We must teach history in order to create active, engaged citizens. In doing so, we can also promote patriotism. Teaching History to Promote Patriotism History We teach history because history…

The Study of Play at Corbett Prep

The Power of Play: How Corbett Prep is incorporating PLAY in the classroom

There’s serious play happening in Corbett Prep’s PreK4 class on “Not a Box” day. Piles of craft supplies—stickers, glue, ribbons, markers, colored paper—are scattered around the classroom suite as students transform cardboard boxes into cars, rockets, houses, tunnels and even a unicorn. The Study of Play: Not a Box Inspired by the book “Not a…

A Little Change – A Lot of Heart. Maui fire relief fundraiser

A Little Change – A Lot of Heart at Roland Park K-8

One of the beautiful things about the International Baccalaureate Program, especially in the younger grades, are the pillars of compassion and empathy. So, when the students at Roland Park K-8 heard about the wildfires in Maui, their first thoughts were, ‘How can we help?’ From there, an idea was born. “At Roland Park, we are…

"Raising Them Ready" authors Erica and Jonathan Catherman

Raising Them Ready: Preparing kids to handle life on their own

When bestselling authors and co-parents Erica and Jonathan Catherman decided to write their next parenting book, they asked themselves a question: “How well had we done to prepare our “adulting” kids to leave home?” Knowing other parents were likely asking themselves the same question, they came up with “Raising Them Ready,” a guide for parents…

Keeping cool in school

Keeping Cool in School

Hot, humid and muggy! Those are just a few of the words to describe the intense heat the Tampa Bay area has been experiencing this summer. It’s probably tough for the air conditioning in your house to keep up! Now imagine how hard it is on the air conditioning in our schools. Hillsborough County Public…

Corbett Prep Christoff family on school boardwalk

A Place to Call Home: Corbett Prep Helps Tampa Transplants Find their Village

Over the past few years, we have welcomed numerous new families to the Tampa Bay area who were seeking the warmth of not just the sun, but of our community too. Diving into a new city can be a tad overwhelming when your quest is not only to find a house, but a home; not…

award-winning students

Hillsborough Strong: Trailblazing Students Doing Incredible Things in Music, Media and Technology

These four award-winning students from Hillsborough County Public Schools are sharing their successes and advice for doing the things they love. Justice Jones Rising fifth-grader, Hunters Green Elementary, Tampa Award: Hillsborough County Elementary Fine Arts Festival, All County Modern Band Drummer On his passion for music: “I love to do what I do because I…

Free resources from hillsborough county public library
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How to get free eBooks and admission to museums, tutoring help, and more through your local library

We want to welcome you and your children back to school for the 2023-2024 school year! The Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library is always available online as a resource for students throughout the year. Here are some of our favorite resources to share for the new school year: eBooks at the Library eBooks are accessible through…

Hillsborough County Public Schools Summer Projects

“Dear Community… Thank you. Sincerely, Hillsborough County Public Schools”

Thank you.  Sometimes, you just need to say thank you.  Especially when you receive $653,000,000.  That is how much money our school district has received, so far, from you, taxpayers, through the Education Referendum, which voters approved in November, 2018.  The money is earmarked specifically for improvements to our schools such as air conditioning renovations…

The Academy of Finance Program
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Distinguished Programs Equal Huge Opportunities in Hillsborough County Public Schools

The Academy of Finance Program: Sounds like some fancy course at the college level, right? Did you know five of our high schools in Hillsborough County offer The Academy of Finance Program? And, even better, there are big scholarship opportunities available to students who complete this prestigious program.   “The Academy of Finance is one…